The Pride Center started LGBTQ+ History Month with their kickoff event in the Cosumnes River College quad on Oct. 1.
The event featured guest speakers theater arts assistant professor Ryan Perez Adame, social work and human resources department chair Brandy S. Jones Thomas as well as local LGBTQ+-owned businesses.
Sabrina Melo Chew, the pride center student support specialist, said she coordinated the event to bring awareness about local businesses that support the community. Melo Chew said the event is an easy way to connect and hopes that it brings a campus-wide community.
“We’ll all just be talking about the history behind this month and the celebrations. How it started, why we do this, and other LGBTQ topics,” Melo Chew said.
The guest speakers used their platform to bring awareness to the LGBTQ+ community and the history it holds.
Nikolai Lee, a 20-year-old art major who uses they/them pronouns, said they saw the flier and decided to come to the event to learn more about health.
“The main things I wanted to see were the booth about self care, the booth about fitness and the booth about what your pronouns are and how to identify yourself and go about being who you are,” Lee said.
Lee said they were also passionate about seeing the resources that can help them feel included and welcomed.
“Making an open space for those who aren’t ready to come out and say ‘hey, we are going to welcome you with open arms. You don’t have to be afraid and you don’t have to shy away,’” Lee said.
Lee said gay people are the same as anyone else and shouldn’t be treated with animosity.
“Without that gay label, they are just like you, so what’s the difference? Why treat them any differently?” Lee said.
Emily Autenrieth, the owner of A Seat at the Table bookstore cafe who uses they/them pronouns, said they created this space to have a place where the queer community can express themselves freely and support each other in Elk Grove.
“We are queer-owned, so it is inherently a very inclusive queer safe space,” Autenrieth said.
They said that the bookstore mostly focuses on selling books by those in the community and hosting events run by those in the community as well.
“Our inventory is focused on voices that have not always been heard and that includes queer and other marginalized voices,” Autenrieth said. “What we’re trying to uplift is the voices you are not likely to get through the major channels through Elk Grove.”
A lot of faculty and staff came to the event to both show support and gather information and resources to share with students who may need it. Mental health advocate and adjunct professor of social justice studies Akaysia Hill said that she recognizes the importance of the event.
“Being a social justice advocate, I love seeing equitable spaces for all of our students to exist and feel safe and have that sense of belonging,” Hill said. “There’s a lot that is going on in the world that is making people feel exiled and othered, and it’s very hard to have those experiences and come to class and have to focus and feel like you need to get a degree and certificate.”
Hill said that she appreciates CRC’s inclusivity and the campus’s care for the students.
“I think that inclusion factor that many campuses don’t have is definitely something that CRC as a whole tries to embody,” Hill said. “Particularly with our LGBTQ+ and queer students, I think it’s important for them to know that we don’t want them to be just an enrollment number, we want them to feel safe.”
The pride center will host more events throughout this month and you can see information about those events on their Instagram @Crcpridecenter.